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Asteroid

Phocaea

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25 Phocaea (A853 GB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.009 AU
True anomaly
176.9°
Distance from Earth
3.358 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Phocaea — 3.009 AU from the Sun Phocaea
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Phocaea is 3.358 AU from Earth today (27.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 02m 50s
Declination
-03° 19′ 12″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
3.35 AU
Elongation from the Sun
61.84° — well clear of the Sun

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.401 AU
Eccentricity
0.2538
Inclination
21.6°
Orbital period
3.72 years
Perihelion
1.792 AU
Aphelion
3.01 AU
Longitude of ascending node
214.06°
Argument of periapsis
90.32°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 360.4 LD
0.9261 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.389

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
6,881
Data arc
166.1 years
First observed
11 March 1860
Last observed
12 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
31 km
Rotation period
9.93 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.35
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.88
Colour index (B–V)
0.93
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.51

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Chacornac, J.
Discovery date
6 April 1853
Discovery site
Marseilles

Also known as 25 · A853 GB · 1956 GC

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources